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4

Rallied

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Sebastian did ask, twice more on different days with varying levels of the same answer. Then Sebastian had enough of asking and set about proving instead. He started with light strokes of skin against skin that had Kurt shivering or jumping in equal measure. His glares were hilarious but Sebastian's touches weren't inappropriate and could easily be a casual brush of skin, even a mistake as he reached for something. Sebastian didn't push Kurt into inappropriate touching territory, for some reason he knew that would just backfire in his face.

Their French teacher must have had pity on Sebastian because she changed the groups for the next project and it was just him and Kurt. They'd be paired up for weeks and would have to get together out of class to finish the project more than once.

Everyone had a private room, they wouldn't be elite if they had to do something as basic as share a room. What they did in it was up to them. Sebastian ended up at Kurt's dorm room one evening, a bottle of very expensive French wine dangling from his fingers and swaying enticingly while Sebastian leaned against the doorjamb. Two long stemmed wine glasses in his other hand above his head. Kurt had eyed him wearily and shook his head at the wine but Sebastian only spoke in French and reminded him they had a project to do together. With a heavy sigh, Kurt opened the door wider and let Sebastian in.

He nearly turned down a glass of the wine but the label and Sebastian's obvious pleasure in drinking it swayed him. He accepted one glass and sipped at it slowly, fighting how much he enjoyed it.

They didn't work on their project, dissolving into a conversation in French rather than working on the project. Kurt had given a valiant effort but Sebastian effectively side-tracked him with talk of topics they both enjoyed. Eventually, Sebastian changed the topic to pry deeper into Kurt's life and what made him tick.

"Do you really need to speak three languages?"

"Yeah, English, French, Spanish and Japanese are stables in the fashion world, duh."

"I'd say you were a walking cliché, but you're really not."

"What does that mean?" Kurt checked.

"Well, you don't need to be fluent in other languages, that's above and beyond for most people, especially so many. Then there's the fact that you're a secret athlete."

"No, I'm really not." Kurt shook his head.

"You beat me at soccer last week in gym class, you beat Blaine in fencing last month, you dance and I discovered you were on not just your cheerleading team but also football team."

"Not at the same time and I was just the kicker." Kurt shrugged, downplaying his talents.

"You really can't see how amazing you are, can you?" Sebastian asked in awe, Kurt wasn't playing, and that made it all the more impressive. Kurt was confident and had swagger when it came to his singing, fashion and language skills. The rest of it, he just didn't see it clearly.

"When you spend your whole life being told how terrible you are just for existing and everything you do is wrong, I suppose it's easy to not see it." Kurt reached for the bottle of wine, topping off his half drank glass and pouring more for Sebastian. Sebastian saw it for the diversion it was.

Sebastian shook his head, Kurt had been even more impressive in French than he'd thought he would be. Kurt had kept up in French with the hyperactive twins at lunch yesterday, answered Blaine in Spanish when he asked a question about their homework, told Jeff to knock it off when he was annoying Nick in English and then continued on in French without once loosing the thread of the conversation. He'd made a huge mark on the Warblers too. "No one told you that you couldn't sing at that terrible school?"

"Oh, they did, every day, maybe not outright but by passing me up again and again for solos or leads and I was made fun of for my speaking and singing voice all the time." Kurt took another sip of the wine, but he was savoring it slowly.

Sebastian smirked a little. "But you didn't believe them." When he believed them about pretty much everything else.

"It was after I was told by the Queen that I was fantastic and would be too much of a competition to audition with her. I threw the diva-off that I would have easily been victor of because of my dad's health problems. After everything he did, I couldn't just walk away but I also couldn't let the anonymous callers cause another heart attack with their continued threats if I won. Helping the Cheerios win with my singing voice in French seemed to be ok though, since it was the Cheerios and not the Glee club." Kurt rolled his eyes at the hypocrisy. "Honestly, wouldn't surprise me if it ended up being Sue sabotaging the club."

"I- well, that's a lot. I can certainly believe that you'd win in a diva off." Kurt started preening at the compliment. "I mean, she attends a public school, she can't be all that noteworthy if she hadn't been discovered and offered a scholarship to compete for a private school."

Kurt's face crumpled and he started to scowl at Sebastian's less than funny words. "You're so hilarious, I think I should elect you for comic of the year."

Sebastian tilted his head. "I shall have to bring some cheese as well next time. Have something to snack on while we wine." He added a wink to take the sting out of it, trying to break the tension that started building with such a serious topic as they ended up with. He hadn't been planning to talk about health concerns and heart attacks and threats. His former attempt at levity had back fired, as did this one. Kurt started shutting doors and windows and rebuilding his walls at the suggestion, obviously hitting the wrong note with him.

"Next time? Sebastian, no."

"Why not? I've shown you I can do the boyfriend thing." Sebastian gestured to the wine with a bit of an overly big grin.

"You've shown me that you have no scruples in getting me drunk with a bed in sight. I choose not to drink too much." Kurt pointed out right back.

"We have weeks left of our project, we'll be spending a lot of time together." Sebastian wasn't going to let this lie and he didn't know why he was in such a state to convince Kurt too.

"The answer is still going to be no at the end of all of this." Kurt said calmly and carefully and gasped when Sebastian's hand darted out. The gasp started in fear and ended with a bit of a torturous note in pleasure as Sebastian's fingers grazed along Kurt's jaw and then his cheek and cupped his face.

Well, he wasn't immune to Sebastian's charms at least. Sebastian just held them like that, not doing anything further, confirming how soft Kurt's skin was all over again. Each touch made him wonder if that particular spot was going to be as soft as the last or softer. Sebastian wasn't immune to Kurt's charms either.

"Sebastian-" Kurt's voice was tangled with conflicting desires and Sebastian moved forward so his face was just in front of Kurt's. "Don't..."

He let his breath ghost over Kurt's lips but didn't press them physically to Kurt's or anywhere on his face. He let the idea wash over him, let the imagination of what it would feel like to take the place of his actual mouth. Kurt let out a small sound and then he was pressing that tiny bit forward, allowing their mouths to tangle in the lightest of touches. Barely moments after they'd begun, Kurt started to pull back and Sebastian sighed in resignation. Then Kurt's mouth was pressing more firmly against him, seeking permission and giving and Sebastian's answered him brush for brush.

He didn't deepen it, knowing somehow this had to be Kurt's lead. This was all in Kurt's hands.

Kurt's tongue probed unsure at the crease of Sebastian's mouth and he let his lips part easily for Kurt's exploration. Kurt had only taken the barest of swipes against where the soft lips became wet when his tongue drew back into his own mouth and Sebastian had wanted to chase after it. He stopped when Kurt pulled away with a sound of distress.

Sebastian held Kurt, a hand in the center of his back and the other on Kurt's hip, not letting him completely retreat. He did let the kiss end though. "That was..." There was vulnerability and exploration and desire all wrapped together. It had been a very long time that he was on the receiving end of someone unsure about whether or not the kiss would be welcomed and unsure of their own skill. "Was that your first kiss?"

"No." Kurt said stonily, whatever he was going to say dissipating in light of Sebastian's question. "I'd practiced with a girl for awhile since she offered to teach me but it felt odd and we stopped."

"First kiss with a guy then?" Sebastian was making small patterns with his fingers where they laid on Kurt and he was slowly relaxing but Sebastian's next question had him tensing again. "Not a good experience?" He questioned, already knowing the answer.

"It was done in anger and self-loathing. It didn't matter that I was the recipient at first." Kurt didn't fight to get out of Sebastian's hands and he eyed him speculatively. "Can I trust you, honestly? I've been through the ringer quite a few times and I don't think I have it in me to go another round." He'd already told Sebastian far more than he probably realized, definitely more than he would have consciously shared. The fact that he had was settling over both of them, realizing there was far more meaning behind it than either originally might have thought and having to reflect on it further.

Sebastian's hands flexed on Kurt, wondering if he was telling him something deep and dark with those words or just fear of getting hurt again. "I am not setting out to humiliate you." He answered, hoping that would be enough. He didn't know if he would have the power to hurt Kurt or what he would do with it if he did.

Kurt reached up to touch his bottom lip in wonder, his thumb sliding along that crease that his tongue had explored however briefly. His pupils were dilated and yet strangely focused on Sebastian's mouth in wonder. "Then... ok."

"Ok?" Sebastian checked. "Ok to what?"

"You can take me out on a date." Kurt answered, his eyes flickering up to Sebastian's, gauging his reaction.

"Just one?" Sebastian wasn't sure he could be content with just that.

"We'll start with one, see how it goes and then go from there." Kurt gave him a hesitant smile and Sebastian would have to be ok with what was offered. "No sex."

"Ever?" That little add on was a bit amusing to him, though he didn't know why.

"Maybe." Kurt shrugged. "Depends how the date goes and subsequent ones if you're lucky." Kurt hesitated, not as confident as he was moments ago, but definitely like the guy who was just kissing him, seeking reassurances. "Bast... I'm not experienced. I don't know if I'll be able to do that with you even after a hundred dates."

Sebastian groaned but he moved forward rather than away. "Fuck it, I'll be patient and like you said, one date at a time." He hesitated this time. "Is it something that you think you'd want, with me, I mean? If it's never going to be something that can exist between us, we best not even try."

Kurt reached out and laid a hand on Sebastian's chest, palm spread open and just held it there while Sebastian focused on breathing. His touch did things to him that he hadn't been expecting. "I think so."

"What's the worst that can happen?" Sebastian joked. "We waste a bit of time with each other." Without sex, they could always pretend that they were just friends hanging out who kissed on occasion. It was very French. Though he supposed emotions were another thing to watch out for if they could shift back into friendship territory or something like that.

"Yeah, it'll be a learning experience if nothing else." Kurt joined in on his smile and Sebastian knew it would be ok, as long as Kurt kept talking to him. He was pretty sure things were going to go his way, Kurt had already given him a nickname. The thought settled somewhere deep and warm inside of him.

He did bring cheese and more wine to their first 'date'. He laid it out in one of their spare rooms and had candles and a few blankets and more finger foods that he thought would be fun to feed to Kurt. He wasn't expecting to find the whole experience so intimate and with only a few chaste kisses between them.

For the first time in his life, he was very much ok with slow, as long as slow was like this and fostered a lot of his daydreams and imagination when he was alone in his bed.

He wasn't alone in his bed for too long though, Kurt started coming over for sleepovers about a month in. For awhile, that's exactly all they were.

Before they could explore each others' bodies though, they had to explore each other's lives more fully.

He learned about the ringers that Kurt had alluded to, learned why he'd been so scared that one day in the hallway. It had been resolved but Sebastian wished he'd played a more active role in it, not just hearing about it after the fact. His bully and first male kiss had gotten a little more aggressive since being suspended and Kurt's move away from McKinley.

He learned that Kurt's private classes through the week were self-defense classes. The classes had come in handy about two weeks prior to their first sleepover and prior to them really sharing details of their lives rather than just alluding to more.

Sebastian opened up to Kurt about his own life and family situation. His father was the State's Attorney and had a lot of power and influence and wielded it to his own advantage. He hadn't needed to use his only child as a pawn but when Sebastian came out, he'd seen it as an opportunity to gain more. He never once spoke down to Sebastian about being gay, didn't really care one way or the other about it as it pertained to Sebastian himself nor their relationship. He did know that sending him to Dalton was a public stamp of approval. So they sent him here and Sebastian had been prepared to hate it.

Except Sebastian loved it here and Kurt called him obsessed with being 'elite' and having everything in his life being that way too. Sebastian knew it was a bit of an obsession and agreed with a teasing smirk, his finger trailing over Kurt's bare back. "But I landed you, didn't I? I can't consider anything more elite."

"You're impossible." But Kurt was smiling and pressing kisses to his chest. They were quite the couple, one who used to bed anything decently attractive male and the other afraid of physical intimacy and somehow they had come together in the center and found each other.

It wasn't always easy and there had been a few false starts and misunderstanding but they'd found their way back together again without anyone else being aware. Now they had a better understanding of each other and the difficulties were different too, they talked through it better or came back after a big blow up argument, ready to be reasonable.

Sebastian considered that a very good rally.